Field of the Invention
Generally, the present invention relates to a strap for an inversion therapy table that may provide relief for the user's ankles and lower legs while inverting as well as providing a safety measure to help prevent serious injury, in the event that the user shifts, slips or falls out of the inversion table.
Description of Related Art
Inversion therapy involves lying flat on your back at an angle or hanging upside down, in head-down position. Current inversion therapy tables rely on the user's ankles and lower legs to hold the user in place while inverting and during inversion therapy. During inversion, the body weight shifts towards the upper body at the downward position, which can cause discomfort or pain, particularly to the ankles. In addition, users who do not properly lock their ankles into place prior to inverting risk slipping or falling off the inversion table. This risk is increased for new users who are not familiar with inversion tables.
Current inversion therapy tables do not have a mechanism to help reduce the pressure applied to the ankles and lower legs while inverting. Current inversion therapy tables also do not have adequate security measures to help prevent or reduce the likelihood of slipping or falling out of the table.
One inversion table, the TruBalance Synergy NL Pro Deluxe Inversion Table, provides a single cross body strap for the user. However, the upper strap (nearest the user's upper body) passes around the side of the table rather than an area above the user's shoulder. The shoulder is a preferred area to support the user's body weight when in an inverted position. Thus, it is not apparent that the single strap would be able to retain the user on the table in the event of a slip or fall due to the mounting point of the upper strap. Moreover, only a single strap is provided. Because a single strap only supports one side of the user's body, the single strap would provide uneven pressure on the user and therefore is not a preferred way to support the user during inversion therapy to relieve pressure on the user's ankles.
The strap on the TruBalance table is adjustable, but the strap does not provide any markings to denote where the user has adjusted the strap length. As a result, the user cannot easily confirm whether the strap length has been adjusted since a prior use of the table or be able to adjust the strap to a prior preferred length. The strap also does not have any sort of elastic section to provide for a steady inversion and reduce shock from the strap if the user were to slip on the table.
The present disclosures address at least some of the issues described above.